Janet Heimlich & Terri Daniel: Religious Abuse of Children

Описание: This show talks about scriptural instructions that promote child abuse, about how toxic theology affects children, about sexual abuse by churches or religious institutions and about conversion therapy laws that give religion a pass — all of this compounded by the pandemic. The guests on “Freethought Matters” know these issues very well. Janet Heimlich (daughter of the surgeon who invented the Heimlich manuever) is the author of "Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment." Terri Daniel is a grief counselor and a nonreligious hospice chaplain. She’s a certified clinical trauma specialist who specializes in bereavement and trauma support and is also an end of life adviser.

“Toxic theology presents this idea of a god watching over you who judges everything you do so that children grow up being afraid to just be children,” Daniel dissects the notion for “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. “And then, of course, the big one is the protector-punisher image of God, where on one hand you’re raising children to think that God is this wonderful, loving, protective parent. And on the other hand, that God is going to beat the crap out of you the minute you do the slightest thing wrong.”

Learn more about the Freedom From Religion Foundation at ffrf.org.